Tuesday, 1 Nissan 5784 / April 9, 2024
Day 466 Readings
Torah: Parshat Tazria, 3rd Portion Vayikra (Leviticus) 13:18-13:23
Leviticus 13:18-23
English Standard Version
18 “If there is in the skin of one's body a boil and it heals, 19 and in the place of the boil there comes a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, then it shall be shown to the priest. 20 And the priest shall look, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a case of leprous disease that has broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall shut him up seven days. 22 And if it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a disease. 23 But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
BIBLE Study Together
2 Kings 14:1-14
English Standard Version
Amaziah Reigns in Judah
14 In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done. 4 But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 5 And as soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants who had struck down the king his father. 6 But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”
7 He struck down ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm, and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this day.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash[a] the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” 9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 10 You have indeed struck down Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”
11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits,[b] from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. 14 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.
2 Chronicles 24:23-27
English Standard Version
Joash Assassinated
23 At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah[a] had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.
25 When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son[b] of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. 26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabite. 27 Accounts of his sons and of the many oracles against him and of the rebuilding[c] of the house of God are written in the Story[d] of the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.
Psalm 12
English Standard Version
The Faithful Have Vanished
To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.[a] A Psalm of David.
12 Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us[b] from this generation forever.8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
John 16:16-33
English Standard Version
Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
I Have Overcome the World
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[a] 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
ESV Readings
Scripture
Psalm 100
English Standard Version
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
A Psalm for giving thanks.
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Leviticus 6:8-30
English Standard Version
The Priests and the Offerings
8 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar. 11 Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
14 “And this is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord in front of the altar. 15 And one shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering and burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 16 And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. 17 It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, from the Lord's food offerings. Whatever touches them shall become holy.”
19 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 20 “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah[b] of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It shall be made with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well mixed, in baked[c] pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 22 The priest from among Aaron's sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the Lord as decreed forever. The whole of it shall be burned. 23 Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”
24 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 25 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. 27 Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place. 28 And the earthenware vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. But if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall be scoured and rinsed in water. 29 Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy. 30 But no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.
Leviticus 7:1
Isaiah 5
English Standard Version
The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed
5 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard:My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines;he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it;and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,judge between me and my vineyard.4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured;[a]I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up;I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting;and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;[b]for righteousness, but behold, an outcry![c]
Woe to the Wicked
8 Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field,until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.9 The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:“Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.10 For ten acres[d] of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”[e]
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink,who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!12 They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge;[f]their honored men go hungry,[g] and their multitude is parched with thirst.14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure,and the nobility of Jerusalem[h] and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her.15 Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty[i] are brought low.16 But the Lord of hosts is exalted[j] in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.17 Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,19 who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it;let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!”20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,who put darkness for light and light for darkness,who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!
24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust;for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.25 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked;and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets.For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
26 He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth;and behold, quickly, speedily they come!27 None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps,not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;28 their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent,their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.29 Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar;they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.30 They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea.And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress;and the light is darkened by its clouds.
2 Corinthians 1:12-24
English Standard Version
Paul's Change of Plans
12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity[a] and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.
15 Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. 16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.[b]
23 But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.
2 Corinthians 2
English Standard Version
1 For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
Forgive the Sinner
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Dear ABBA,
Blessed are YOU O GOD YESHUA King of the Universe! HOLY is YOUR Name! With regards to Stephen I really lost all my respect and love. But since YOU have removed all these feelings for him, I thank YOU for saving me from misery. I will continue to pray that YOU reveal YOURSELF to him and his mother and his family be saved, that they will embrace YOU and follow YOU and be devoted to YOU in their hearts. Thank YOU for killing the vision of him marrying me one day, please don't raise it up anymore because I don't want to go back it anymore. I stayed up all night reading Ikigai until page 75. From 12:30 to almost 4am imagine that? I want to find my purpose in life even without a spouse and without love of a spouse. Please help me find my purpose and live with Ikigai. I need YOU to always lead me through life. Help me O GOD Almighty to resurrect from the death of this desire and live a more vibrant life. Help me. Because YOU are my greatest love dba??? So be it! Be My greatest LOVE and help me continue to bring glory and honor to YOU for YOU deserve all glory and honor.
Ba HaShem YESHUA HaMashiach, Amen!